Well, I wish I could say that the litle one was “pooping less” but just when I thought that, he came down with a croupy kind of cold and suddenly he was drinking mama’s milk more and making looser you-know what. Croup is a viral infection which causes swelling in the larynx and trachea, causing a change in a child’s voice, sometimes stridor, and all of these symptoms are worse at night. And when your child has it, it is scary but in our case it is getting better fast. In any case, he is eating solid foods more reliably, though a heck of a lot of it still ends up in the bowl or on the floor. But at least now he can take slightly thicker textures and seems to be accepting mama’s cooking again. I think that the Acorn Squash was a big hit last week – he just gulped it down!! I also made a concoction of organic yogurt — with banana and a touch of agave syrup to tune down the slightly sour taste of the yogurt — which he ate happily. Too bad I don’t have the energy to keep too many bananas around; I don’t really eat them myself and he only eats a little bit at a time, so the whole thing gets so brown so fast . .well suffice to say I’m not willing to keep more than one in the house at any given time. They always end up frozen, supposedly for banana bread, and then 6 months later I find bananas everywhere in random containers in the freezer. Good times.
So the prince is napping briefly. Time to pack for an upcoming trip, also we are planning to go to a craft fair together today. I mixed up some homemade body butter today . . ooh baby stirred . . .my time may be running out . . anyway, I mixed some homemade body butter today which is my personal answer to xerosis (dry skin) and eczema (itchy, rashy dry skin – often associated with allergies and asthma). The key is moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. Not just when the skin is rashy and itchy but also when it is well; that will help prevent the scratching and the resultant rashes. Parents ask me all the time if I recommend Eucerin and Aquaphor, as I tend to recommend creams and thick ointments rather than lotions. They are great for those who like them. But there are cheaper options: I think that this option below is great and should work for both mama and baby. I plan to use this on L once we run out of the giant humongous bottle of J&J baby lotion that was given to us. I know I said that I avoid lotions, but I try not to waste what I already have.
If you want to make the recipe scented for mama, throw in a tad of scented lotion. I tend to prefer my body creams mixed this way because I’ve never enjoyed creams which are heavy on scent. Too often I find “lotions” too heavy on water content and scent, too skimpy on oil. But this allows me to experience those nice scents but with a better moisturizer. Note: this stuff is definitely greasy when applied, but for a gal who has seriously paper-dry skin, it definitely helps. It is best to apply creams like this after a bath and directly on wet (or patted dry) skin; it goes on smoother this way. This stuff is also great for pregnancy-related itchy belly!
Ingredients (amounts are approximations):
1/4 cup cocoa butter
1/4 cup shea butter
1/2 cup petroleum jelly
1/4 cup plain vegetable shortening (that’s right: Crisco)
(for scent: in this preparation I added 1 ounce of L’Occitane Verbena body lotion)
Instructions:
Combine ingredients in bowl and whip with a fork till fluffy. Store in an air-tight container (I tend to think ‘green’ so I usually use one of my old cream containers or one of the containers that held the ingredients). Note – the oil will separate out in this cream over time but it should work fine. Massage into skin and enjoy the comfort!